Business of the House
3:37 pm
Jim Murphy (Minister of State (Europe), Foreign & Commonwealth Office; East Renfrewshire, Labour)
I beg to move,
That, at this day's sitting, the Speaker shall put the Questions necessary to dispose of the Motion in the name of Ms Harriet Harman and Secretary David Miliband relating to the Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty) not later than Ten o'clock;
proceedings may continue after the moment of interruption;
and
The effect of the motion would be to bring proceedings on the main procedural motion to a conclusion no later than 10 o'clock this evening. This is a straightforward motion that is procedural in nature. If the House agrees to it swiftly, we will have around six hours to discuss the Government's proposed approach to the important scrutiny of the European Union (Amendment) Bill. That discussion will give hon. Members the opportunity to debate the substantive business motion in detail. At that time, I will make the case in favour of a structured, themed approach to scrutiny of the Bill. A themed approach will ensure that we can cover the range of issues arising from the Lisbon treaty.